From 2011 until 2014, Border Monitoring Bulgaria (BMB) witnessed protests and several hunger strikes in the two Detention Centers of Lyubimets and Busmantsi, because of bad conditions and police violence, which was later as well the case in the closed center of Elhovo. The EP member Josu Juaristi Abaunz denounced recently the abuse of Afghani asylum seekers in Bulgaria. Human Rights Watch (HRW) came up with a report, on January the 20th, which included abuses in two Detention Centers together with violent incidents, like e.g. Push-Backs on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. BMB claims that such practice will come to an end immediately. At the end of January 2016, another two dead bodies were found on the border with Serbia.

Meanwhile, Rumyana Bachvarova, the Interior Minister stated that the 2nd fence of more than 130 km – in the regions of Haskovo, Yambol and Burgas – could “be completed by the end of March“ 2016. The Defense Minister, Nikolay Nenchev, admitted that the Bulgarian army is already supporting the Ministry of Interior (MoI) by “guarding the border“ since April 2015.